Motivating Homeschooling Teens

Category: Teen Dreams | Oct 08, 2009 |  

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Many parents approach their child’s adolescence with a bit of trepidation. They worry that their child will be so distracted by hormonal and social changes that he or she will tune out parents and disengage from learning. It takes organization and preparation to homeschool your teen, but if you consider the following points, your may have a better chance of keeping your teen motivated to learn. Of course, this does not mean that your teen won’t disagree with you, pull away at times,  or not communicate. It means that the love of learning that your child had in earlier years can and will continue.

RELEVANCE If you link learning with your teens intrinsic goals and personal interests, then that learning will be relevant to your child.  Most teenagers are still fairly ego-centric. They NEED to be able to personally relate to the things they study.  This means that you must identify your teens interests and intrinsic goals and teach to those goals. That can be tricky, depending on the age of your child. Some children will not communicate or refuse to communicate at times. However, if you watch and observe your child, you will find ways to make academic work relevant to the child personally. And if you show an interest in what they want to learn, they will be more likely to participate willingly.

ENGAGING Learning should engage your child emotionally as well as intellectually. Education doesn’t have to be dry, boring, and full of regurgitated information. Watch for what sparks interest in your child and fan it into a good flame of learning.

AUTONOMY Any teen wants to have a measure of autonomy.  This flows into control over academic choices. Engage your child’s active participation in planning curriculum and in directing and pursuing electives. A course may be “required,” but your teen can choose how it is presented and how it is pursued. Perhaps your teen would like to take a course in a co-op format, online, through a tutor, independent study, at a local community college, or high school.

REAL LIFE LEARNING: APPRENTICESHIPS, INTERNSHIPS, VOLUNTEER WORK As homeschoolers, you have a unique opportunity to help your child follow his real-life interests and skills through one-on-one mentoring or apprenticeships. He can also intern as a page in  a government setting or do volunteer community service work in an area that interests him. This type of experience not only looks great on a college application, it is more reflective of real work in the adult world.

FOCUSED LEARNING WITHOUT TIME LIMITS Because your teen is homeschooled, more time can be spent learning to become skillful in areas of real life-long interest. A budding musician can practice without interruption. An artist can paint in an ideal setting. A writer can finish that first novel. A family can travel to the site of an important event in history and spend time learning first hand about the event.

DEPTH Your teen is likely to be better off learning one thing in depth than ten things on a superficial level. You have the opportunity to relay vital and important information and to teach it in depth.  Skip the extraneous busy work;it is disrespectful to the growing intellect of your child.

GUIDE  As your child becomes an older teen, the parent should become more of a guide or facilitator. The goal here is to partner with your child to enhance responsible life choices. Refrain from disciplining and teaching through guilt and fear. Extrinsic motivation through fear is a poor motivator.  It may seem to have short-term benefits,  but it has long-term consequences. You and your teen will have to navigate the waters together as a team.  Your child is learning to be captain of the ship, free to choose a life path, and free to make mistakes along the way.

LISTEN Teens need to be heard, even when they don’t speak up. Sometimes when your child wants to talk,  you will be tired or busy. Find the time to talk anyway.  Listen carefully. In many ways, your teenager needs you now more than ever.

BALANCE Teenagers get distracted by life.  It’s just a fact of life. They find it difficult to manage their time and energy well. Help them balance their life with adequate sleep and good eating habits and moderation in their pursuits.

RELAXATION Make sure your teenager has ample time to relax and enjoy life and friendships. Unstructured time will help a teen dream and plan life goals.

Homeschooling your teen can be very rewarding but you may find it challenges your patience and creativity. Remember to help your teen learn through intrinsic relevance and engaging methods. Teach in depth, listen well, and provide stimulating real-life experiences that will enhance and develop life-long skills. Make sure that both you and your teen keep things in perspective and have time for relaxation and enjoyment.  You may both find that you are well motivated towards life long learning!

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